San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1887-03-24
Onr City Affairs.


According to promise, we return to this
subject. First we desire to say that we
we have NO personal grievance, no unfriend-
" feeling towards the Mayor or Council
nor any desire or expectation by ANYTHING
we may say to influence the city election IN
April. Our city government is mainly IN
the hands of some of our best citizens, and
we are not aware that any material change
is demanded by our people, We have no
idea they have deliberately or Intentionally
gone wrong in any respect, but we do claim
that, we presume through inattention III
some points, they have been remiss OF
duty, as we shall presently show 1t has
become so common for the administrations
of towns and cities everywhere to become
rather fast and wind up heavily in debt that
people have grown too much to look upon
such results as matter of course. We
have heard men speak thus of the future OF
San Marcos-that as q matter of course she
will in few years be staggering under
burden of debt. Now for our part we sub
scribe to no such pestilent heresy. 1t is
not necessary that orr town should become
thus lnvolved-she cannot be with Ju-
d1cious and honest administration OF her
public affairs, such as prudent individuals
give to their private business And we hold
that moo, right in the start, is the time to
look vigilantly after this subject and guard
against any such disastrous result. Hence
criticism by the press, as the guardian OF
the rights aud interests of the people, Is
clearly in order at this time.
| Our readers will recolect that in the
FREE Press of Feb. oath Mayor Giesen fla
vored them with partial report of the fl
uanci Il condition of our city. In this he
estimated the net revenue of the city, pro-
yided all taxes are collected, in round mum
beers at $4,000, and further estimated
the expenditures on account of water rents,
marshal and policemen, fire equipments,
etc., at q little over the same amount. A
levy of one-halt the former rates of taxation
for building temporary school building
was made, but the expense of said building
is not included iu the Mayors statement,
the other expenditures just named balanc-
ing the entire receipts from taxes, SO we
are left in the dark rs to whether the school
house has been paid for after all. But
supposing that said debt has in some. way
not explained been met, still, according to
the Mayors own showing, the city is only
ven in its accounts, aud that only on the
SUD position that oil the taxes are paid-a
supposition hardly ever warranted by facts.
In truth, up to he LIST inst. the collector
, reported only some $3.50 taxes paid g.! At
any rate it is clear there are no means on
hand for any other purpose. This, consid-
ering the amount of city taxes our people
are called on to pay, is certainly not what
they had right to expect. AS matters
stand, what becomes of the large promises
which were made by the present admins
.ration in the start, about spending thou
sand dollars or more in Matchmaking the
public square, or improving the streets and
sidewalks? The official year is nearly at
an end, and we find these promises all ''gone
glimmeriug." The Council, though repeat
eddy urged thereto by the press, have not
even constructed walk to the Public School
to keep the children out of the mud. 1t is
true there has happened to be no rain AMI
mud thus far, so the walk has not been
greatly needed. Neither did the Arkansaw
soiourner need roof to his house during q
dry time, nevertheless people generally have
failed to realize the force OF his logic as re-
CARDS dispensing with house-roofs.
We might say in passing, that in view of
the very large expenditures on account of
water rents and fixtures, it becomes a
question whether the city did not make
grave mistake in not purchasing the water
works entire. Then all the citizens might
haze profted by them TO the fullest desirable
extent, might have irrigated the small
grounds about their premises and made the
town small para disc instead of, as now,
being under sort of espionage lest they
may use a few bucketfuls of water more
than is nominated in the bond"
We pass on. The Mayors statement
shows that the city has 10 surplus means.
to say the least. In view of this the pro-
priety of certain allowances becomes the
more questionable. We quote the follow
ing from a recent official report Of Council
proceedings:
d. P. Hopkins. commission on assess
lnents for Sc, S2lO Sc.
@. NJ. Hull, printing and advertising re-
vised city ordinances, sloJ.
In our former notice We called on the
Mayor. or whom If might concern, for an
explanation of these items None has been
given, 50 we proceed to make some further
comments. As 10 the case Of the Assessors q
is true the Cressei did undertake to show
that Il vas authorized by quoting the fol
loving article from the old Town Ordinances
Of lsso.
TIE Marshall for performing the d1iles
Of assessor AID collector shall receive On al
tzr assessments per cent. and On al tATes
coIlactsi By him 5 per cent
Having heard Of rsos1i Pablioaii0z q
. revised City Ordi121oss,- re had inferred
ths Old town orsisz1css had cssssi 10 b N
fra P-f II ~. 4 u clearly o1lV